RESTON, Va. – Sallie Mae yesterday named Paul Thome, a former mergers and acquisitions specialist, as CEO of its Sallie Mae Bank, which funds the student loan giant’s growing private loan portfolio.
Thome most recently served as Sallie Mae’s senior vice president of business finance and procurement. He joined the company in 2009 from Credit One Financial Services where he was the chief financial officer. Before that he spent 10 years at MBNA where he was executive vice president of corporate development, mergers and acquisitions. He began his career in public accounting at Coopers and Lybrand before spending 15 years in senior management at MNC Financial and First Tennessee Mortgage.
Sallie Mae manages or services $235 billion in education loans and administers $35 billion in 529 college savings plans.